The international coordinator of the project “Monitoring UNGASS-AIDS Goals on Sexual and Reproductive Heatlh” sent the comparative report to UNAIDS on February 15.

The comparative report was written by Ms. Wilza Villela, project´s research consultant, and Ms. Alessandra Nilo, project international coordinator. Mr. Paul De Lay, UNAIDS´ director of Monitoring & Evaluation, has aknowledged receiving it and thanked for the important work developed throughout the project.

The project of Monitoring the UNGASS-AIDS goals on Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health aims to form and nurture a south-to-south advocacy and research network that, originally, includes sixteen countries: nine in Latin America and the Caribbean, one in Eastern Europe, three in Africa, and three in Southeast Asia.

The project is mostly funded by Ford Foundation, New York, through the office of Education, Sexuality, Religion. It receives complimentary funding from Ford Foundation’s Global HIV Initiative.

Additional support for specific action comes from UNAIDS, Geneva. In kind support, such as logistics infra-structure, is provided by CICT – Center for International Technical Cooperation, – a department of the National AIDS Program of the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and the Brazilian office of UNFPA.

The project is divided in four phases. The first phase is comprised of the 1st UNGASS Forum in the country, facilitated by international coordination team members. The second phase involves data gathering and systematizing. The third is the second UNGASS Forum in the country to prepare for the fourth phase of political advocacy for UNGASS-AIDS 2008.

Nearly half the people living with HIV in the world are women. Many factors cause this situation: poverty has a greater effect on women; inequity of power between men and women; and all forms of violence which are particularly driven towards women, including pure and simply historical misogyny.

There is a great difficulty in incorporating actions specifically for women in the diverse countries National Plans against HIV/AIDS. At the same time, the initiatives in the field of sexual and reproductive health for women have not been effective in preventing HIV infection; neither they have promoted sexual and reproductive rights of women living with HIV.

Therefore, it is necessary to give visibility for civil society monitoring proposals — that shows potential and shortcomings of public policies in each country— to effectively face the feminine side of the pandemic.

This project expects to deepen the debate about the UNGASS-AIDS—United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS—2001 goals regarding sexual and reproductive health, and rights, in sixteen countries.

Advocacy Network

Civil Society and UNGASS-AIDS

Gestos, Brazilian NGO located in Recife, has utilized the Declaration of Commitment from UNGASS-AIDS 2001 as an instrument for advocacy and research of sexual and reproductive health of women and girls in public policies of sixteen countries. The project is funded by the Ford Foundation, with support from UNAIDS and the Center for International Technical Cooperation—CICT—of the Brazilian National AIDS Program.